Staff Reviews

"He's a crazy man!!" Well, yes, that he was. Thomas L. Jackson... later known as the infamous Stonewall Jackson. General Jackson began as an unlikely leader. He came from the backwater of nowhere... force fed learning into himself... earned the last slot in a West Point class... was a highly pious introvert... and toiled as a lousy professor of science at VMI. Then the Civil War ripped the country apart.

As a member of the Confederate forces, he began as an irritant. A genuine odd duck. Jefferson Davis didn't like him. Robert E. Lee had no reason to differ. But soon, incredibly enough, he blossomed a true leader. He held natural abilities to create decisive strategies -- throwing conventional warfare to the wind. He regularly drove his troops to utter exhaustion -- but in so doing, baffled his rather inept enemies. Soon, he bagged one battle victory after another. Federalists grew to fear him. His men revered him. In short, he had an uncanny ability to see through walls, develop "impossible" plans and then execute them. Both sides of the War went to school on his tactics, as he professed that God was directing his every move.

Most books on the Civil War focus on Lee, Grant and the line up of Union generals who proceeded Grant -- as Lincoln ignominiously striped them of their commands. For some reason, Stonewall Jackson -- who was probably the most competent one of the lot -- escapes literary coverage. Why? Maybe it's because he died in battle (from friendly fire). He was not around to glorify himself and rewrite history decades after the bugles ran out of air.

Jackson was devoted to his cause, devoted to his troops, devoted to his little family -- and always sided on what he felt was right. Battles he waged saw row after row of infantry mowed down by blistering fire. The carnage of his campaigns was tragic. (Surely, there must be a better way to address disagreements.) But on the War dragged... through mud, sweat, filth, horror, violence, blood- soaked ground. When Jackson was cut down -- riding ahead of his troops at night to scout enemy positions -- the world of the Confederacy crashed. Suddenly, the end seemed near. A sun of hope sank beneath the trees. And time ran heavy for those on the fields who remained.

Rebel Yell re-introduces a true American hero -- regardless of which side in the Civil War favor. This is a book about passion, commitment, dignity, purpose... and a man who deserves so much more.

Description

From the author of the prize-winning New York Times bestseller Empire of the Summer Moon comes a thrilling accountof how Civil War general Thomas “Stonewall” Jacksonbecame a great and tragic American hero.

Stonewall Jackson has long been a figure of legend and romance. As much as any person in the Confederate pantheon, even Robert E. Lee, he embodies the romantic Southern notion of the virtuous lost cause. Jackson is also considered, without argument, one of our country’s greatest military figures. His brilliance at the art of war tied Abraham Lincoln and the Union high command in knots and threatened the ultimate success of the Union armies. Jackson’s strategic innovations shattered the conventional wisdom of how war was waged; he was so far ahead of his time that his techniques would be studied generations into the future.

In April 1862 Jackson was merely another Confederate general in an army fighting what seemed to be a losing cause. By June he had engineered perhaps the greatest military campaign in American history and was one of the most famous men in the Western world. He had, moreover, given the Confederate cause what it had recently lacked—hope—and struck fear into the hearts of the Union.

Rebel Yell is written with the swiftly vivid narrative that is Gwynne’s hallmark and is rich with battle lore, biographical detail, and intense conflict between historical figures. Gwynne delves deep into Jackson’s private life, including the loss of his young beloved first wife and his regimented personal habits. It traces Jackson’s brilliant twenty-four-month career in the Civil War, the period that encompasses his rise from obscurity to fame and legend; his stunning effect on the course of the war itself; and his tragic death, which caused both North and South to grieve the loss of a remarkable American hero.

About the Author

S.C. Gwynne is the author of Hymns of the Republic and the New York Times bestsellers Rebel Yell and Empire of the Summer Moon, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He spent most of his career as a journalist, including stints with Time as bureau chief, national correspondent, and senior editor, and with Texas Monthly as executive editor. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife.

Praise For…

"In Rebel Yell, Mr. Gwynne's easy, loping style wraps itself effortlessly around the particulars of Stonewall Jackson's life, from his back-of-the-mountain upbringing to the outburst of military genius in the Civil War. The result is a narrative vivid with detail and insight."

"In the magnificent Rebel Yell,one of the year's best biographies, writer S.C. Gwynne brings Jackson ferociously to life... His battle scenes are marvels of description and kinetic action. [He] brings a deep humanity to his portrayals of Jackson, his fellow Confederate generals and their Union adversaries... Gwynne's pages fly by, brimming with excitement and terror."

“Gwynne stirringly recreates the bloody, error-plagued battles of the early war and argues that Jackson’s legend galvanized the South, outmanned and outgunned, to keep fighting.”

"An engaging narrative with a pace that never flags... Gwynne accomplishes a great deal in his clear and highly readable book... If you read everything about the Civil War -- or if you have read very little about the Civil War -- Rebel Yell is an excellent addition to your reading list."

"I've reviewed many books on the Civil War, and this is far and away the best biography of a Civil War general that I've read... If you're a Civil War buff -- as I am -- or if you're just interested in wonderful biographies -- as I am -- RebelYell is a must-read book. It reads like a novel, but it's based on extensive beyond belief research."

"Gwynne’s portrait of Jackson is comprehensive, stirring, compelling....This well-researched portrait of a well-studied figure of the Civil War defies the odds and measurably adds to the scholarship surrounding Jackson and the conflict that defined him... The book is hard to put down."

"Profoundly enlightening...The difference in Rebel Yell is...the historical sweep, the small touches, and the quality and clarity of the writing... Those sorts of little touches, page after page after page, set this book apart....Gwynne's Rebel Yell delivers what readers want and deserve — a brave, headlong charge into American history."

"A worthy book that does much to present the general in a realistic, critical and evenhanded manner.... Gwynne writes with style... he creates vivid word pictures and descriptions that keep the reader engaged. Rebel Yell is a worthy addition to the shelves of those who study and read about the American Civil War."

"S.C. Gwynne provides a comprehensive portrait of a complex man who triumphed on the battlefield--but remained an enigma... a joy to read."

"[Gwynne's contribution] lies in capturing Jackson’s character, personality and historical significance. He interprets Jackson as a discipline- and God-obsessed social bore, yet one of the fiercest fighters and most brilliant minds in American military history... a 'living myth'...Jackson ascended rapidly from nerdy artillery and physics professor at Virginia Military Institute to Lee’s audacious and seemingly invincible lieutenant."

"September’s most scintillating read may be a 640-page biography of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson... S.C. Gwynne’s riveting retelling of the canny Confederate whose strategies shaped the early years of the Civil War is just that good."

"A stimulating study of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson... Gwynne reveals him to have been an early master of modern mobile warfare and a clear-eyed interpreter of what modern 'pitiless war was all about'... Readers are likely to agree that, without Jackson, Lee 'would never again be quite so brilliant,' while even in the North Jackson was considered, rather than a rebel, a 'gentleman and... fundamentally an American.'"

"Spry prose and cogent insight....Showing Jackson’s exploitation of speed and deception, Gwynne’s vivid account of his Civil War run, which ended with his death in the 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville, is a riveting, cover-to-cover read for history buffs."

“It’s hard to imagine an author breaking newground with another Jackson biography. But S.C. Gwynne does just thatin Rebel Yell... Readers will come away from RebelYell withan understanding of the man that goes beyond his military exploits.Gwynne’s masterful storytellingmakes Rebel Yell anabsorbingchoice for general readersand CivilWar buffs alike.”

"VERDICT: This popular history is recommended for all readers interested in the Civil War."

“Rebel Yell breathes contemporary insight and fresh energy into the life of an authentic American legend. In this crackling narrative, S.C. Gwynne gives us the bold tactics, the eccentric thinking, and the wicked genius of one of history's most brilliant—and unconventional—military minds.”— Hampton Sides, author of Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West and In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette

“Powerfully told, richly detailed, but also deeply human in timeless ways, Rebel Yell unmasks Gen. Stonewall Jackson, one of American history's most enduring legends (and yet most private of men). This is history at its best.”— Michael Duffy, co-author of The Presidents Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity

“With the reporter's eye for the revealing vignette and the story-teller’s ear for the rhythm of human striving, S. C. Gwynne gives us a beautifully penetrating account of the meteoric rise and tragic death of the most legendary of Civil War soldiers.”— H. W. Brands, author of The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace

“Rebel Yell is the best biography of Stonewall Jackson I have ever read. The scholarship is exemplary, the narrative riveting and richly textured. With a rare combination of unflinching objectivity and genuine compassion, Rebel Yell unraveled for me the enigma of Stonewall Jackson. A magnificent achievement, Rebel Yell represents a milestone in Civil War literature.”— Peter Cozzens, author of Shenandoah 1862: Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign

“The great tragedy of modern historiography is that more historians don’t write like S.C. Gwynne. In this book on Stonewall Jackson’s Civil War career, Gwynne has fashioned a fast-paced narrative of a man complex and enigmatic, awkward and exceptional. Gwynne has taken on a giant figure of quirks and brilliance who demands both restraint and a facile pen, and he delivers in vivid form.”— John Hennessy, author of First Battle of Manassas: An End To Innocence and Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas